Tampa Child Support Lawyer
If you are the legal parent of a child with whom you are not living in Tampa, perhaps as the result of a divorce or separation, it is critical that you understand your obligation to make child support payments. This is also true for parents who are acting as custodial parents; you have the right to receive child support to help you meet the child’s needs. At the law offices of Bubley & Bubley, P.A., our Tampa child support lawyers can guide you through everything you need to know, and help you to ensure that a fair child support order is established and enforced.
Duty to Pay Child Support – When Does a Parent Have to Pay?
Florida law holds that both parents have a duty to support their child financially. This means that both parents are responsible for child support in some form. It is assumed that the custodial parent is making “payments” and exercising their financial duty to their child by virtue of having custody and providing for the child as such. As such, it is the noncustodial parent who will likely be ordered by the court to make child support payments.
Keep in mind that only legal parents are responsible for providing for their children. As such, a father of a child will not be liable for such payments unless paternity has been established.
Amount of Child Support – How is Support Calculated?
Child support in Tampa is calculated based on child support guidelines set forth by the state. These guidelines rely on the combined available monthly income of both parents and the number of children for whom parents are responsible for providing support. Essentially, the more combined income of parents and the more children that parents have, the more than a party will be responsible for paying in child support. For example, parents who make a combined monthly income of $4,000 and have one child are responsible for $828 in child support payments, whereas parents who make $10,000 per month and have one child are responsible for $1,437.
Keep in mind that these amounts are the amounts of child support that bothparents are responsible for; the noncustodial party is not asked to pay this amount on their own. In order to determine how this amount should be split, each parent is responsible for the amount that is proportional to their income. For example, if parents make a combined $10,000, but the noncustodial parent is responsible for $7,000, or 70 percent, of that, this parent would be responsible for 70 percent of the support obligation (70 percent of $1,437), or approximately $1,006.
Deviation from the guidelines is possible.
How Our Tampa Child Support Lawyer Can Help
Whether you are seeking child support in Tampa or being asked to pay child support, our lawyers can assist you. We are familiar with child support laws and how to help our clients secure case outcomes that protect their best interests. We can also assist you with a child support enforcement or modification case.
For a consultation with an experienced child support lawyer, call us today or send us a message. We are here to serve you.